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Should shark fin soup be banned?

photo: www.sharktruth.com

The soup that costs $50 a bowl will be a topic of discussion at this week’s Union of BC Municipalities’ meeting. Most commonly served at weddings and at special banquets, shark fin soup is a hot topic in the Lower Mainland and across the country these days. Since the release of the documentary Sharkwater and the rise of local advocacy groups, such as Shark Truth, protests against the practice of finning sharks and serving shark fin soup has become more common. As a result of these groups, awareness is spreading, and fewer restaurants and some municipalities have banned shark fin soup all together.

The [anonymous] manager [of an undisclosed restaurant selling shark fin soup] said he was aware of Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry’s Jang’s recent motion at city council to develop a regional ban on shark fin.

But he wasn’t familiar with North Vancouver city’s resolution to go before civic politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities calling on the provincial government to implement a province-wide ban on the possession, sale and distribution of shark fin.

The federal government should also ban the import of shark fin in Canada, says the resolution, which adds the harvest of shark fins is a “inhumane and wasteful practice serving a very narrow and sometimes criminal marketplace.” [Read the full article].